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 Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2009 1:57 pm |
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http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/356564-Rio_De_Janeiro_Awarded_2016_Olympics.php
Decision presents good news, bad news for potential network bidders
Alex Weprin -- Broadcasting & Cable, 10/2/2009 1:09:46 PM
Rio De Janeiro, Brazil has been awarded the 2016 Summer Olympics, the
International Olympic Committee said Oct. 9.
The IOC is preparing to accept bids from network suitors looking to
have exclusive coverage of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia,
as well as the 2016 games.
The Walt Disney Company’s ABC and ESPN properties are expected to bid
for the 2014 and 2016 games, in addition to NBC Universal.
NBC and its sister networks have the exclusive coverage rights through
the 2012 Summer Games in London.
The announcement that Rio will host the 2016 games is a mixed bag for
potential Olympic bidders.
Chicago, which was considered the favorite to win the games, ended up
being eliminated in the first round. President Obama and talk show
host Oprah Winfrey went so far as to travel to Copenhagen, Denmark to
make the pitch for the city to the IOC.
A Chicago Olympics would have been a ratings coup for whichever
network acquires the rights. The 1996 Atlanta games and the 2002 Salt
Lake City Winter games each broke ratings records for NBC.
The 1996 games drew 209 million viewers in the U.S., according to
Nielsen. They were the most-watched Olympic Games on U.S. television
ever until the 2008 Beijing games, which drew 211 million viewers. It
isn’t a perfect comparison however, as the 2008 games also had many
more events televised than in 1996, and was available on a number of
cable channels (USA, Telemundo) in addition to NBC.
While Rio may not draw the attention that a Chicago games could, it is
still a better choice for American broadcasters than either of the
other finalists: Madrid, Spain or Tokyo, Japan.
Rio’s time zone is just one hour ahead of the U.S.’s Eastern Standard
Time, meaning that most of the key events likely to draw the highest
ratings could be televised live in the U.S.
Tokyo or Madrid would have meant that key finals would likely be shown
on tape delay for primetime. |
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